Governor



March 27,1945. A F, HOPPE 2,372,274,

GOVERNOR Filed April 2O, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l `4 5o 3 lo 1 2/ l l 44 eZ- I 49 I l 15 j? 5 l?? .l J5

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March 27, 1945.

A. F. HOPPE GOVERNOR Filed April 2o, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z6, Z4' Z7'INVENTOR. HAM/0M i, #aP/7E.

soon, and may not lof fuel to the engine',

jerking of the Patented Mar. 27, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT y OFFICE v`e.JJ... I

Arnold F. Hoppe. New Castle, Ind. Application April 20, 1912, sl'lll N0.439,884

l Ultima. (CL 12S- 1.2)

` The present invention relates to a governor, primarily intendedforcontrolling the operation of the internal combustion engine drivingmeans of an automotive vehicle. The basic structural feature oftheinvention is a iiuid motor operatively associated with a valve in theintake passage ofvan engine to control the ow of motive iluid to theengine,

between two extreme positions in response to the operation of meansresponsive to the speed of an element driven by the engine. 'Suchelement may be an engine part. moving in synchronism with the crankshaft of the engine, or it maybe a vehicle part, moving in synchronlsmwith the running gear'of the vehicle.

The primary object of the invention is to provide arelatively simplemechanism whereby aV limit may be automatically placed upon the maximumspeed of a vehicle or an engine, without highly deleterious in the useof a truck, or the like, upon a highway, since the driver may wish toapproach a heavy pull at maximum speed, and to maintain maximum fuelfeed to his engine throughout the extent of the heavy pull.

'I'he above object obviously requires that the governor mechanismdenly.when the predetermined speed is attained, so that the control maynot begin to hunt too permtoverrunning of the predetermined speed, ineither direction. It is a further object of the invention. therefore, toprovide a control mechanism which, when the predetermined speed isatta-ined,v will act rapidly to cut: down the supply but which will actupon the fuel control valve more slowly as the control valve. approachesclosed position; and which will act slowly upon the control valve andthen act more rapidly The last-stated object further guards againstvehicle as a result of the operation of the control mechanism. When agovernor is placed in control of a relatively high-powered butrelatively light vehicle, it is very likely to cause a sensible and veryannoying jerking operation o! thel vehicle whenl the governor acts toclose the shall act relatively 'sud-v as it begins to open, p as thecontrol valve approaches fully open position.

`Such a jerking operation, of course, is not only annoying to theoperator or passengers of a vehicle, but is obviously detrimental in itseffect upon the' driving train of the vehicle. A further Y object of theinvention. therefore; is so to operate the governor as to avoid suchjerking of the vehicle.

'the operation of saiduid motor being-dominated by valve means shiftableA still further object of the invention is to place the operation of theiluid motor which directly shifts the fuel control valve, under thedomination of an electrically actuatedlvalve mechanism, and to controlthe actuation of thativalve mechal nism by speed responsive means.

Further objects of the inventionwill appear as i the descriptionproceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention maybe Iembodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings,attention being called 'to the fact, however,

nor eiect over controlling fuel supply valve or to open the' fuel supplyvalve.

that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made inthe specific constructions illustrated and described. so long as thescope of trating a governor as an accessory for association with-thefuel feed mechanism of a standard internal combustion engine, partsbeing shown in section for clarity of illustration; v Fig. 2 isa-horizontal section through another form-of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section throughthe form of invention illustrated inFig. 2, and showing a fragment of the carbureter outlet neck in whichthe standard throttle valve is mounted;

Fig. 4 is a view'similar to Fig. 3, but showing the parts'in differentpositions; and

Fig. 5 is asection through a plunger of modied form.

seen that I have illustrated the discharge neck l0 ot the carburetorwhich may be of standard conformed to provide a continuation of thatpassage,

is inserted between the anges Iland Il. Said housing II is formed withachamber I G. offset from, but communicating with, the passage I2; and ashaft I1 is mounted in said housing I5 to traverse the e I2; the axis ofsaid shaft I1 perpendicularly intersecting the axis of said pas-Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, it will be sage I2. Fixed to saidshaft I1 is a butterilv valve la located within the passage I2 andshirtable between substantially the position shown, in which said valvesubstantially closes the passage I2, and a position in which the valveI4 includes the axis of the passage I2, which is the full openposition-'of said valve.

Of course, in accordance with standard practice, the' valve I8 will beso mounted that it can never completely close the passage I2; andtherefore, whenever, in the present specification and in the claimsappendedlthereto, reference is made to the closed position of the valveIl, it is to be understood that a position of maximum restriction offlow through the passage I2 is intended.

Secured to the shaft I1 and within the chamber I6 is a finger I9, and aspring- 2a is coiled about the shaft I1, bearing at one end against thehousing wall and, at its other end, engaging the finger I9 to urge saidlingerresiliently' in a counterclockwise direction toward full openposition of the valve i8. A stop 2l is provided as an absolute limit forthe clockwise oscillation of the linger I9; and a set screw 22 ispreferably provided as an adjustable stop for limiting the clockwisethrow of said nger.

A bore 23 leads outwardly from the chamber It and communicates 'with theinterior of e. shell element 28. Loosely reciprocably mounted in saidbore 23 is a plunger 24 formed with an axial passage 25 therein openingat 2B into the chamber I6. A radial port 21 opens outwardly from thepassage 25 at a point adjacent that end of the plunger 24 remote fromthe chamber I6. At times, the port 21 will be located within theinterior of the shell 28. That end of the plunger 24 located within thechamber I6 is operatively associated with theend of the finger I8; andattention is called to the fact that, when the valve Il is in full openposition, the lever arm formed by the linger I is substantiallyperpendicular to the path of movement of the plunger 24.

A mating shell element 29 is secured to the shell element 28 by bolts Slor the like, said shell elements being formed with annular flangesclamping therebetween the peripheral portion SI of a flexible diaphragm32. -At its midpoint, said diaphragm is pierced by a stud n having anaxial port 35 therethrough, said stud being held in place on thediaphragm by a nut 34 threaded upon the projecting end of said stud. Thesaid compartment 40, the outer end of said passage l! being surroundedby a valve seat 4I with which may cooperate the head 42 of a-valve stem44. A

port 43 provides communication between the compartment and theatmosphere. Thus, when the valve 42 is in the position illustrated inFig. 1, the chamber 38 is in open communication with the atmosphere.

The valve body 44 is provided with a collar S5 between which and thehead 42 mature 46. Preferably, the valve body will be formed ofnon-magnetizable material, while the armature 46, of course, will beformed of readily magnetizable material, such as soft'iron.` Preferablythe axial extent of the armature 46 will be less than thedistancebetween the valve head t2 and the collar for a reason which will larappear.

The valve assembly is mounted within a tube il the lower end of which isthreaded into the element 29 in concentricity with the valve seat lll,and the upper end of which threadedly supports a housing '48 for asolenoid coil 49. One terminal of the coil (not shown) is grounded inaccordance with standard automotive practice, while the other terminalthereof is connected, by an electrical cable 50, with one terminal of aspeed responsive switch mechanism 5|the opposite termnal of which isconnected, by cable 52, with a storage battery, or other source ofelectrical energy (not shown). l

The unit 5I comprises a normally open electric switch 53 including anoperating plunger 5S. When the ,plunger 54 is forced upwardly, theswitch will be closed; and when pressure. upon said plunger 54 isremoved, the switch will be opened. Of course, closure of the switch 53will energize the solenoid coil 49,

projecting end of the stud 33 concentrically engages the outer end ofthe plunger 24, so that the port 35 communicateswith the bore 25 of saidplunger. A pin 36, carried by the shell 29 slidably projects through theport l5, materially restricting the flow capacity of seid port,.ascomlpacwith the flow capacity of the bore 2i and p0 It will bey seenthat the parts above described make up a/iluid motor comprising` twovariables volume chambers 31 and Il separated by a movable wallconsisting of the diaphragm 32. It will further be seen that the chamber31 is in continuous communication with the engine intake passage I2, thechamber It is in continuous restricted communication with said passage,while the communication between the chamber $1 and the passage IZ is, attimes, restricted when the 'port 21 moves out of the chamber 31 and intothe position illustrated in` Fig. 1. In other words, movement of theport 21 into thebore. 23 will restrict, without interrupting,communication between the chamber 31 and the passage I2.

A passage 39 leads from the chamber Il into a `A leaf spring 55, orother lever-like element, has l one end mounted at 56 within the unit5I, and, intermediate its ends, engages the plunger E4. Acompressionspring 51 engages the opposite end of said element 55, urging the sameaway from the plunger 54. A screw 58 is provided for adjusting thelforce exerted by the spring 51 upon said element 55.

Engaging the lower surface of the element substantially in alignmentwith the plunger 54, is the actuating element 59 of the speed responsivemechanism. A plurality of weights Se, 6I, pivoted respectively at 4I,6I, are so operatively associated with the element 59 that, as saidweights swing outwardly under the inuence of centrifugal force, therelement 59 will be gradually lifted. The pivotal points 6I are carriedon a platform l2 supported upon a shaft 63 suitably journaled in theunit 5I and carrying a beveled gear i4 meshing with a beveled gear 65likewise journaled in said unit. Means, indicated as an element of ailexible shaft 68, is provided. to establish a drive connection betweenthe gear 55 and that element whose speed is to be governored.

It may be noted that, while engine speed control can be effected Ybyconnecting the element to any member driven in synchronism with theengine crank shaft, I prefer to connect said element i4 to the timingtrain of the engine. Likewise, while vehicle speed may be governed byconnecting the element 6B to any member driven in synchronism 'with therunning gear of the.

which may result iny l parts of the vehicle itself.

nism with the engine crankshaft and another similar unit driven insynchronism with the vehicle running gear. l

ItI will be seen that adjustment of the screw 58.wi11 determine thespeed of the shaft 83 at which the switch 53 will be closed. Asillustrated in Fig. 1 said switch is closed, and the pressure -withinthe chamber 38 is substantially -atmospherie pressure, while thepressure within the chamber 31 is substantially intake manifoldpressure. In Fig. 1, the valve I8 has just been closed;

whereby thm speed of the controlled element will bereduced. As the speedof that element drops to a value at which the spring 51 will overcomethe effect of the weights 60, the solenoid 49 will be deenergized, andthe valve 44 and armature 48 will be dropped, whereby the valve head 42will be postioned to-close the passage 38.

Air is continually being drawn, at a -restricted rate, through the port35 around the pin 36, and

thence through the bore 2 5 and port 26 into the Substantially thepressure existing passage I2. in the passage I2 is being maintained inthe chamber 31 by way of the bore 23 in which the` plunger 24 fitsrather loosely.

l At the momentwhen the valve head 42 closes against ,th valve seat 4I;of course, the pressure within the chamber 38 is much higher than thepressure Within the chamber 31, but the eiTect of the above-describedairflow will be gradually to equalize the pressures within the chambers 31and 38. As' the pressure Within the chamber 38 approaches the pressurewithin the chamber 31, the spring will overcome the previously existingpressure differential, and will swing the finger I9 counterclockwise toforce the plunger 24 and diaphragm 32 toward the left, thereby swingingthe valve I 8 toward full open position. The movement of the plunger 24toward the left will be slow because the effective area of the port 35,as restricted by the pin 36, is very small.' The opening movement of thevalve I8, however, will be at a continually accelerating rate, becauseof the relationship betweenthe plunger 424 and the finger I9. `That is,since that relationship is such that the valve I8 is in full openposition when the effective lever arm of the finger I9 is substantiallyperpendicular to the path of the plunger 24, a given increment of themovement ofthe `plunger 24, when the finger I9 is in the positionillustratedin Fig. 1, will result in an angular movement of the valve I8much smaller than that produced by the sameincrement of the movement ofthe plunger 24 when the valve I8 is close to its full open position.

Consequently,`the feed of fuel tothe engine is very gradually increasedfrom a minimum, so that the engine may have a chance to takehold Yandbegin to pull, and then is more rapidly increased as the valve I8approaches full open po- This gradual starting ment of the valve I8,followed by an increase in rate of movement of the valve is an importantfeature of the invention. Known characteristics of operation of internalcombustion engines are accommodated by this voperative feature, since itis well known that, ii' the throttle valve for such an engine is toosuddenlyA openedvat a time when the engine is-idling, the engine maychoke and stagger as it tries to pickup its load, bucking detrimental ineect not only upon the passengers but upon the Observation of theoperation of the mechanism indicates that the 'relative to the valvebody 'site ends of the rate of movement o! the diaphragm itself may besomewhat accelerated as the diaphragm nears the left-hand limit of itsthrow. It is my present belief that such acceleration of the movement orthe diaphragm does take place, and that it probably results from theincrease of the effective length of the lever arm through which thespring 28 acts upon the plunger 24.

As the valve I8 attains full open position, and assuming that the normalthrottle valve (not shown) is also suiiiciently wide open to permit theengineA to accelerate the speed of the controlled element beyond thepredetermined value for which the unit is set, the weights will swingoutward to elevate the element 59 to close the switch 53'to reenergizethe solenoid 49. Energization of that solenoid will cause the armature446 to spring upwardly. Of course, during deenerglzation of the solenoid49, the armature 46 will restupon the shoulder formed by the valve head42. Therefore, as the armature springs upwardly, its first movement willbe a movement 44, so that the armature will strike thev collar 45 adynamic blow.

This arrangement, of course, makes "more-certain the opening df thevalve movement of the armature 46 will carry the valve body 44 with it,to move the same substantially to the position illustrated in Fig. 1. K

As the valve 42 is moved to said position, atmospheric air rushesthrough the port 43 and the 42 and subsequent passage 39 into thechamber 38. Since the flow path for such atmospheric air is ofconsiderably greater capacity than theI restricted port 35, pressurewithin the chamber .38 will be rather rapidly increased. At the time ofopening o f the valve 42, the port 21 will be positioned within thechamber 31. However, as the diaphragm 32 moves toward the right underthe influence of the increasingv pressure within the chamber 38, theport 21 will be moved into the bore 23, whereby said port is masked torestrict considerably the iiow path between the chamber 31 and thepassage I2. Such restriction will somewhat increase the pressuredifferential between oppoport 35, thereby somewhat increasing the .rateof now `of air through said port 35, to decrease the rate at which thepressure within the chamber 38 isbuilt up. As a result, the rate ofmovement of the diaphragm 32 toward the right will be somewhat reduced.`That reduction in the rate of movement of the diaphragm 32, combinedwith the effect of the changing relationship between the path ofmovement of the plunger 24 and the lever arm against which that plungeroperates upon the shaft I1,

`as above described, progressively reduces the rate port 21 with respectto that end of the plunger engaged by the stud 33. If the governormechanism. is to be used to control a relatively powerful engine in arelatively light vehicle, the port 21 should be so positioned as to bemasked ratherrpromptly after opening of the' valve 42. As

the ratio of power capacity of the engine `to load value is reduced,however, the port 21 should be moved closer and closer to the left-handend of the plunger 24, as viewed in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 illustrates a plunger24, providedv with a'bore 25' and 4 a port 26' adapted to be disposed inconstant communication with the passage l2, and with a port 21' sodisposed that it will never be masked during operation of the governor.I have found that such a plunger is best adapted for use in a governormounted to control the engine oi' a heavy truck.

In Figs. 2, 3, and 4, I have illustrated an application of the governormechanism of my present invention to the standard throttie vaive of astandard carbureter. The reference numeral 1@ indicates the dischargeneck of a standard carbureter, said neck being formed to provide apassage 1l traversed by a shaft 12 upon which is loosely'mounted thestandard throttle valve i3. Said valve 13 is carried upon the shaft 12by a sleeve Hi (see Fig. 2) and is urged, by a spring 15, intoengagement with a stop 1t formed on the shaft 12. It will be seen thatthe vlave 1.3 is thus mounted for resiliently-opposed clockwiseVmovement with respect to the shaft 12.

A bore 11 leads radially outward from the passage 1| through a stud 18preferably formed upon the neck 10, and a plunger 19, similar to theplunger 24, is'reciprocably mounted 'in said bore 11 and in an alignedbore 11 formed in a shell element 84. The plunger 19 is formed with anaxial passage 8u terminating ina port 8l positioned within the passage1l, and opening through a radial port 83 into a chamber 89. The end ofthe plunger 19 disposed within the passage 1I engages the valve 1,3 at apoint, offset from the axis of the shaft 12, and said valve 13 ispreferably formed, on its engaged face, with an abutment 82 forcooperation with the end of the plunger 18.

The shell element 84 is threadedly secured in the stud 18, and al matingshell element 85 cooperates therewith, said shell elements being formedwith peripheral iianges secured together by bolts 86; or the like, andclamping therebetween the peripheral portion 31 of a diaphragm 88. Saiddiaphragm constitutes a movable wall separating the two variable-volumechambers 89 and 9U of a iiuid motor. At its midpoint, the diaphragm 83is penetrated by a stud 9i clamped in place on said diaphragm by a nut92. The stud 9i is formed to provide a port 93, the eiective capacity ofwhich is materially restricted by a pin 9B carried by the shell element85. A

spring 95 is preferably received within the chamber 89, and biases thediaphragm 88 toward the position illustrated in Fig. 3.

The shell element 85 .is formed to provide a Ipassage 96 the outer endof which is surrounded by a valve seat 91 with which cooperates the head98 of a valve body 99. A port E00 opens to the atmosphere from theinterior of a chamber provided by a tubular shell IUI threadedly carriedby the element 85 substantially concentric with the valve seat 91. Ahousing |02 is secured in place about the shell lillv by a cap nut ID3threaded on theA upper end of the shell IDI, and encloses a solenoidcoil 1IM connected in a oircuit indicated by line wires 105. Thearmature los for said solenoid |04 is siidably associated with the valvebody 99 in such a manner that,

, when the solenoid IUI is energized, said amature will be lifted tostrike a dynamic blow against the colla'r- I01 at theupper end of thevalve body 89.

to lift the valve head 98 oil its seat 91.

Suitble speed responsivemeans is provided for dominating the circuitl;and the operation of the embodiment or Figs. 2 to 4 is closely analogousto the operation of the structure of Fig.v l, as

means energizes the solenoid coil I 0l, the valve head 98 will be liftedo the seat 91, and atmospheric air-will rush through the passage 96 intothe chamber 98 to create therein a pressure enough higher than -thepressure existing in the chamber 89 to overcomethe tendency of thesprings 95 and 15 and to shift the diaphragm 3S toward the left, therebycorrespondingly shifting the plunger 19 to swing the valve i3 in aclockwise direction about the axis o the shaft 12. This action will takeplace even though the shaft 12 is held stationary by'thethrottle-levercontrolled linkage indicated by the reference numeralw8, since,` as has been explained above, the valve 'i3 may move in aclockwise direction with respect to said shaft, being opposed in suchmovement only by the resilient force of the spring 15.

When the valve head 98 is returned to the valve seat 91, the pressurewithin the chamber @d will gradually be reduced to the valuecorresponding to the value of the pressure in the chamber 89, wherebythe spring 95 will shift the diaphragm 88 back to the positionillustrated in Fig. 3, and the spring 15 will cause the valve 13 tofollow such movement of the diaphragm 88 until said valve comes intocontact with the stop 16, in whatever position that stop may, at thattime,

occupy.

I claim as my invention:

l. Governor means for an internal combustion engine comprising a, valvemounted to control idow of fuel to said engine, a fluid motor operableto actuate said valve and comprising Atwo variable volume chambersseparated by a perforated movable wall, conduit means providingcommunication between one of said chambers and the intake passage ofsaid engine, conduit means providing communication between the other ofsaid chambers and a source of iiuid under pressure higher than thatexisting in said engine intake passage, an electrically operated valvemechanism controlling ow through said last-named conduit means, andmeans responsive tovariations in engine speed and controlling operationof said valve mechanism. l

2. The combination with a, carburetor element having a iluid passage anda regulating valve therein, of a housing connected to said carburetorelement and communicating with said passage, a diaphragm dividing saidhousing into compartments, means for bleeding fluid through saiddiaphragm for equalizing pressure on opposite sides thereof, a plungerassociated with said diaphragm for moving said iuid regulating valve toclosing position, said plunger having its inner end disposed in one ofsaid compartments, having a. longitudinal bore terminating at its outerend in a transverse opening open to the interior of said passage, andhaving an intersecting port adjacent its inner end adapted to cooperatewith the wall of said housing for regulating the longitudinal movementof said plunger, said housing having a duct communicating at one endwith one of the compartments of said housing and chambers separated by'amovable wall, means providing continuous communication between one ofsaid chambers and a region of low iiuid pres,-

resiliently opposing such movement, and means sure, means providingcontinuous restricted communication between the other of said chambersand said region, a passage connecting said lastnamed chamber with asource of fluid under higher pressure, valve means controlling fluidilow through said passage, means operatively connecting said movablewall to shift said valve toward closed positionupon creation of apressure in said last-named chamber higher than the` pressure in saidfirst-named'chamber, means resiliently opposing such movement, and meansfor shifting said valve means between passage-closiin;Jandpassage-opening positions.

4. Control mechanism for dominating a valve mounted to control fluidilow throw and passage, a fluid motor comprising two variable-volumechambers separated by a movable wall, means providing continuouscommunication between one of said chambers and a region of low fluidpressure, means providing continuous restricted communication betweenthe other of said chambers and said region, a passage connecting saidlast-named chamber with a source of fluid under higher pressure, valvemeans controlling fluid 'flow through said passage. means operativelyconnesting said movable wall to shift said valve toward closed positionupon creation of a pressure in said last-named chamber higher than thepressure in said first-named chamber, means operable upon movement o!said wall through a predetermined fraction of its stroke to restrict,without interrupting, communication between said first-named cl'- amberand said' manifold.

5. Control mechanism for dominating a valve mounted to vcontrol iluidilow through a passage. a plunger operatively associatedwith said valve.a uid motor comprising two variable-volume chambers separated by amovable wall, a passage formed in said plunger and providingcommunication between one of said chambers and a region of flow fluidpressure, said passage including a radially opening portdisposed, attimes, within said one chamber, said plunger passage` further openinginto the other of said chambers through a port of smaller capacity thansaid iirst-named port, asccond passage connecting said last-namedchamber with a source of uid under higher pressure, valve meanscontrolling fluid flow through said second passage, means operativelyconnecting said movable wall to shift said plunger.

to move said lvalve toward closed position upon creation of a pressurein said last-named chamber higher than the pressure in said first-namedchamber, and means for shifting said valve means between passage-closingand passage-opening positions.

ARNOLD F. HOPPE.

